Disney souvenir chain Trendyland said to be out of business

Local souvenir chain Trendyland is said to be financially troubled and all of its 16 shops in Hong Kong could fold anytime, hk01.com reports.

Trendyland, founded in 1997, sells Disney merchandise at lower prices through its 16 outlets.

Rumors that it could be out of business have been circulating on social media over the last few months. Some netizens have posted complaints on Trendyland’s Facebook page, but said the firm never replied.

Other customers said they have nowhere to redeem the gift vouchers they had purchased from Trendyland, adding that they would seek assistance from the Customs and Excise Department.

No one was picking up the phone when hk01.com reporters called Trendyland’s main office in Kwun Tong and its several outlets. The shop at Maritime Square in Tsing Yi has ceased operating when reporters visited on Tuesday.

A franchisee shop at Tsuen Wan Plaza is still in business, but the shop’s name was covered with white paper. Staff said they will continue to operate but the shop’s name will change.

Apple Daily reported that Trendyland’s 7,000-square-foot office in Kwun Tong has been vacated.

Sources from the brand’s franchisees suggested that the company had difficulties coping with rising rents for its retail outlets.

Trendyland announced on its Facebook page in May that gift vouchers could only be used at five of its outlets and not at the four franchisee shops.

The firm, aside from failing to reply to customer complaints, simply stopped updating its Facebook page in mid-May.

Netizens said Trendyland could be in violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance by refusing to accept gift vouchers it sold to customers.

A Consumer Council spokesperson confirmed that they have received complaints from Trendyland customers who were unable to use the shop’s gift vouchers.

The Customs and Excise Department also said it is looking into the complaints.

In an emotional but expected postscript to the 2014 Occupy Movement, the Court of Appeal on Thursday sentenced three student leaders who kicked off the 79-day pro-democracy protests to prison sentences of six to...

Singapore has surpassed Hong Kong in the annual global livability rankings list compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In the latest report from the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, Hong Kong...

Participants in this year’s Food Expo are generally optimistic about their sales outlook, noting that visitors are likely to spend more than last year because of the tempting bargains. The 28th edition of the...

Police busted an Instagram investment scam and arrested 10 people, including a 14-year-old boy, Apple Daily reports. The boy had used his mother’s name to open an account and his father’s passbook to collect...

The government continues to face questions over planned joint checkpoint arrangements for the cross-border high-speed rail, but the controversy has so far failed to dent the approval ratings of Chief Executive Carrie Lam and...

Emily Lau Wai-hing, former chairperson of the Democratic Party, defended party member Howard Lam Tsz-kin over his claims that he was kidnapped and tortured by mainland security agents. The allegations came to light during...

Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Alex Chow Yong-kang and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, the three former student leaders who were found guilty in July last year of taking part in an unlawful assembly in 2014, said they...

“Twenty” is the watchword throughout Hong Kong as it celebrates two decades under Chinese rule. But the masses are unimpressed by the fanfare. It appears that the city’s post-handover journey has turned out to...